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Greek system recruitment begins
Fraternity rush events started Monday, and the first day of sorority recruitment is Wednesday.
By CATHERINE LYONS
Staff Writer
The Row is a frenzy of activity this week as the Interfraternity and Panhellenic councils begin their rush programs for the fall semester.
All 18 USC IFC houses and 10 Panhellenic sororities will host events for students interested in pledging.
The councils held a symposium on Sunday explaining the rush process and the various multicultural and national Greek councils to members
of the class of 2010.
Fraternity rush started Monday with a Row-wide open house designed to give students a feel for each chapter.
Several houses will begin hosting on and off campus activities tonight, including trips to comedy clubs, hookah bars, restaurants, paintball and go-karting, said Sagar Patel, IFC vice president of recruitment. The activities end with Saturday’s “bid night.”
Andrew Skotzko, IFC vice president of public relations, encouraged male students to participate starting today as well.
“If you've already been out, continue to go out with the house you like. Rushees are welcome to start Tuesday, just go to the Row around seven o’clock and check out the hous-
es,” Skotzko said. “It’s a mutual selection process. Guys are what houses are made of. It’s who you want to be a part of.”
The entire rush week is dry, meaning no alcohol and no female students are allowed at fraternity-sponsored rush activities.
Some of the freshmen who attended the symposium were wary about the large time commitment a fraternity could pose.
“I don’t want to start off the year with a big time commitment,” said Alex Clendennen, a freshman majoring in business administration. "I’m thinking more about spring,”
Other students are still deciding whether or not to wait until spring semester to rush.
I see Rush, page 13 I
Generally, sororities only rush during the fall and fraternities rush both semesters.
Sororities expect more than 700 enrollees, one of the highest turnouts ever.
INDEX
Freshmen running backs shone in the team's scrimmage against itself. 20
Student bloggers cross political spectrum. 4
News Digest........2
Opinions.............4
Lifestyle...............7
Classifieds.........16
Crossword.........18
Sports.................20
WEATHER
Today: Sunny. High of 90, low of 70. Tomorrow: Mostly sunny. High 90, 71.
INSIDE
^innlcoQ nn n
Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912
.dailytrojan.com
August 22, 2006
Vol. CXLX, No. 2
Housing units open nearly three weeks late, unfinished
Cell phone
scavenger hunt spans
campus
Through text messaging,
students can partake in the three week-long challenge. By LAURA SIMURDA
Staff Writer
The Information Technology Program at USC is striving to meet students on their own terms this semester, beginning with a cell phone scavenger hunt whose winner will receive an iPod nano.
The hunt, which began Monday, will last three weeks, at which time a raffle will be held to determine the winner.
The faculty at ITP chose to use cell phones for this particular reason, as they are one of the most common student-owned and used items, said Jonielle Schmidt, an advisor for ITP.
“If it’s in your hand all the time, why not do something fun with it?” she said.
The goal of the hunt is to “definitely increase awareness about ITP, but also ... a way to get students involved,” said Ashish Soni, program director for ITP.
ITP hopes to introduce the department to the wider student population through the scavenger hunt by enticing students studying diverse majors to take part in the event.
"Our tag line is real-world-rel-evant technology and we wanted to show we are real world, real relevant,” Schmidt said.
Each Monday, students will receive a text message composed of a single question and four multiple-choice answers.
To discover which of the four options is correct, students must explore the campus, discovering areas they might hot have noticed before.
Designed to be simple enough for students to easily find the
I see ITP, page 13 I
Steevens Alconcei I Daily Trojan
Incomplete. Tuscany, Conquest Housing's new 120-unit .luxury apartment complex on Figueroa Street and 37th Place, was supposed to be ready Aug. 1. Many tenants were allowed to move in Saturday, but construction workers on site estimate the building will take at least three weeks to a month to finish.
Conquest project hit by delays
By JOANNA LIN
Staff Writer
After nearly three weeks of delays, Conquest Housing opened Tuscany on Saturday for some tenants, but the building is not complete and construction workers estimated it would take at least three weeks to a month to finish.
The new 120-unit luxury apartment complex on Figueroa Street and 37th Place was originally scheduled to open Aug. 1.
Tenants were notified by e-mail in July tha,t their apartments would not be available until Aug. 18 because of delays with city inspections. But on Aug. 16, Conquest pushed the move-in date back indefinitely.
Conquest management declined to comment on the delays.
Tuscany project manager Casey Smith said while heavy rainfall in the last two years was unexpected, there is “no real reason to pinpoint” for the delays on the $35 million project.
Construction workers on site said Tuscany was already behind when construction started in June.
“Everything from the get-go was behind,” said Jeff, a construction worker who declined to give his last name.
Jeff said Conquest started pushing to speed up construction the week of Aug. 7, with construction workers coming in seven days a week 10 hours a day.
Jerry, another Tuscany construc-
tion worker, estimated that the building would take at least three weeks to a month longer to be completed, though others estimated more.
Smith said floors two through five, where students live, are “basically done,” but he would not comment on the status of the first floor, which is supposed to include restaurants such as Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Coldstone Creamery and personal services such as dry cleaning and car washing and detailing.
But tenants who have already moved in say their apartments are not as ready as they expected.
“We’re still missing gas and Internet, and we just got power and hot water (Monday),” said Mitchell Sekiya, a fourth year architecture stu-
dent who moved into his apartment Sunday.
While Conquest said gas and Internet should be installed by the end of the week, it did not say anything about Tuscany’s first floor, Sekiya said.
“By looking at it, I’d say it would take at least two months (to finish),” he said.
Tuscany resident Rajiv Smith-Mahabir, a junior majoring in cin-ema-television production, said the first floor is “totally empty,” except for a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf sign.
While many residents say they are happy to finally move into their apartments, they are upset that the first floor is not yet ready.
I see Conquest, page 3 I

Greek system recruitment begins
Fraternity rush events started Monday, and the first day of sorority recruitment is Wednesday.
By CATHERINE LYONS
Staff Writer
The Row is a frenzy of activity this week as the Interfraternity and Panhellenic councils begin their rush programs for the fall semester.
All 18 USC IFC houses and 10 Panhellenic sororities will host events for students interested in pledging.
The councils held a symposium on Sunday explaining the rush process and the various multicultural and national Greek councils to members
of the class of 2010.
Fraternity rush started Monday with a Row-wide open house designed to give students a feel for each chapter.
Several houses will begin hosting on and off campus activities tonight, including trips to comedy clubs, hookah bars, restaurants, paintball and go-karting, said Sagar Patel, IFC vice president of recruitment. The activities end with Saturday’s “bid night.”
Andrew Skotzko, IFC vice president of public relations, encouraged male students to participate starting today as well.
“If you've already been out, continue to go out with the house you like. Rushees are welcome to start Tuesday, just go to the Row around seven o’clock and check out the hous-
es,” Skotzko said. “It’s a mutual selection process. Guys are what houses are made of. It’s who you want to be a part of.”
The entire rush week is dry, meaning no alcohol and no female students are allowed at fraternity-sponsored rush activities.
Some of the freshmen who attended the symposium were wary about the large time commitment a fraternity could pose.
“I don’t want to start off the year with a big time commitment,” said Alex Clendennen, a freshman majoring in business administration. "I’m thinking more about spring,”
Other students are still deciding whether or not to wait until spring semester to rush.
I see Rush, page 13 I
Generally, sororities only rush during the fall and fraternities rush both semesters.
Sororities expect more than 700 enrollees, one of the highest turnouts ever.
INDEX
Freshmen running backs shone in the team's scrimmage against itself. 20
Student bloggers cross political spectrum. 4
News Digest........2
Opinions.............4
Lifestyle...............7
Classifieds.........16
Crossword.........18
Sports.................20
WEATHER
Today: Sunny. High of 90, low of 70. Tomorrow: Mostly sunny. High 90, 71.
INSIDE
^innlcoQ nn n
Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912
.dailytrojan.com
August 22, 2006
Vol. CXLX, No. 2
Housing units open nearly three weeks late, unfinished
Cell phone
scavenger hunt spans
campus
Through text messaging,
students can partake in the three week-long challenge. By LAURA SIMURDA
Staff Writer
The Information Technology Program at USC is striving to meet students on their own terms this semester, beginning with a cell phone scavenger hunt whose winner will receive an iPod nano.
The hunt, which began Monday, will last three weeks, at which time a raffle will be held to determine the winner.
The faculty at ITP chose to use cell phones for this particular reason, as they are one of the most common student-owned and used items, said Jonielle Schmidt, an advisor for ITP.
“If it’s in your hand all the time, why not do something fun with it?” she said.
The goal of the hunt is to “definitely increase awareness about ITP, but also ... a way to get students involved,” said Ashish Soni, program director for ITP.
ITP hopes to introduce the department to the wider student population through the scavenger hunt by enticing students studying diverse majors to take part in the event.
"Our tag line is real-world-rel-evant technology and we wanted to show we are real world, real relevant,” Schmidt said.
Each Monday, students will receive a text message composed of a single question and four multiple-choice answers.
To discover which of the four options is correct, students must explore the campus, discovering areas they might hot have noticed before.
Designed to be simple enough for students to easily find the
I see ITP, page 13 I
Steevens Alconcei I Daily Trojan
Incomplete. Tuscany, Conquest Housing's new 120-unit .luxury apartment complex on Figueroa Street and 37th Place, was supposed to be ready Aug. 1. Many tenants were allowed to move in Saturday, but construction workers on site estimate the building will take at least three weeks to a month to finish.
Conquest project hit by delays
By JOANNA LIN
Staff Writer
After nearly three weeks of delays, Conquest Housing opened Tuscany on Saturday for some tenants, but the building is not complete and construction workers estimated it would take at least three weeks to a month to finish.
The new 120-unit luxury apartment complex on Figueroa Street and 37th Place was originally scheduled to open Aug. 1.
Tenants were notified by e-mail in July tha,t their apartments would not be available until Aug. 18 because of delays with city inspections. But on Aug. 16, Conquest pushed the move-in date back indefinitely.
Conquest management declined to comment on the delays.
Tuscany project manager Casey Smith said while heavy rainfall in the last two years was unexpected, there is “no real reason to pinpoint” for the delays on the $35 million project.
Construction workers on site said Tuscany was already behind when construction started in June.
“Everything from the get-go was behind,” said Jeff, a construction worker who declined to give his last name.
Jeff said Conquest started pushing to speed up construction the week of Aug. 7, with construction workers coming in seven days a week 10 hours a day.
Jerry, another Tuscany construc-
tion worker, estimated that the building would take at least three weeks to a month longer to be completed, though others estimated more.
Smith said floors two through five, where students live, are “basically done,” but he would not comment on the status of the first floor, which is supposed to include restaurants such as Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Coldstone Creamery and personal services such as dry cleaning and car washing and detailing.
But tenants who have already moved in say their apartments are not as ready as they expected.
“We’re still missing gas and Internet, and we just got power and hot water (Monday),” said Mitchell Sekiya, a fourth year architecture stu-
dent who moved into his apartment Sunday.
While Conquest said gas and Internet should be installed by the end of the week, it did not say anything about Tuscany’s first floor, Sekiya said.
“By looking at it, I’d say it would take at least two months (to finish),” he said.
Tuscany resident Rajiv Smith-Mahabir, a junior majoring in cin-ema-television production, said the first floor is “totally empty,” except for a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf sign.
While many residents say they are happy to finally move into their apartments, they are upset that the first floor is not yet ready.
I see Conquest, page 3 I